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Jacques Becker

Introduction

As an assistant to Jean Renoir in the 1930s, Becker drew from his mentor a fondness for realism and an unwavering sense of human decency.

He became a director during the Occupation, showing an aptitude for taking on familiar genres – comedy, film noir, social drama – and putting his own spin on them.

Films such as Casque d’or and Touchez pas au grisbi reveal a generous attitude to people of dubious morality, for Becker was always more interested in human complexity than plots, and he showed his working-class characters in a more sympathetic light than the brittle bourgeoisie.

Few filmmakers have matched his love of Frenchness, and in particular the city of Paris.

Becker’s films have benefited from several restorations, unveiling a director of rare passion and invention.